[[MagmaMan Lava]], that primal force and essence of destruction, is ''really, '''really''' hot'' -- between 700°C and 1,200°C hot (or between 1,300°F and 2,200°F).

[[LavaAddsAwesome As awesome as lava is,]] most TV writers and video game developers forget that "really hot" part. The hero is making his way through the LethalLavaLand, but wait! There are floating rocks, he can make it across to the other side! Except in the real world, the heat coming off of the lava would have cooked him already.[[note]] And if the lava is fresh enough, it's also releasing all sorts of interesting gases that do the human body no good to breathe, but that's wandering a bit from the subject.[[/note]] Put your hand in front of an open flame and you have an idea of how hot that room, cave, or EternalEngine ''should'' be. While it's possible for the outer layer of lava to cool, forming an insulating shell where the inner layer still flows but people can get close to it relatively safely as long as they don't touch it, this is never seen in fiction where red-hot lava flows [[LavaIsBoilingKoolAid as free and exposed as river water]].

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convection Convection,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convective_heat_transfer the process by which a liquid or gas (like air) forms currents that very quickly spread heat from a hot thing to its environment,]] does not exist in TV land. [[WordSchmord Convection, schmonvection]] -- as long as you don't touch the lava, you're okay. Note that this trope covers heat ''radiation'' as well (but [[JustForFun/LousyAlternateTitles Radiation Schmadiation]] would sound like ILoveNuclearPower...), and seeing as large explosions create shockwaves as well as fireballs, this also covers Overpressure? What Overpressure?. TV also ignores the other hazards of volcanoes and lava flows, such as [[DeadlyGas toxic gases]] and [[OminousFog blinding, choking ash]].

Although lava is the primary offender, this also applies to any time convection is ignored for the sake of RuleOfCool, such as when a character is standing above or near a large fire or any other extreme heat source. If you don't touch the raging inferno, boiling lake, or white-hot walls, you'll be fine. This is despite the fact that just about every kid has probably placed their hand over a burning candle at some point and noticed that it gets painfully hot well before actually touching the flame. RuleOfPerception also has a hand in this trope; viewers can't feel any heat, so obviously there isn't any. This is especially applicable to VideoGames, where having to dodge both lava ''and'' the invisible heat it gives off [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality would be rather irritating]].

Lava is also rarely found just calmly lying around -- when it slows, it has time to cool and harden. If it's been liquid for any appreciable length of time, it will probably [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAxj2ob_JoU look like this.]] This is a subtrope of ArtisticLicensePhysics.

Occasionally you may see the visual effects of convection in the form of distortion of heated air -- which will still be safe to be near, as long as you don't touch the magma itself.

For some reason, the reverse is demonstrated a bit more realistically; characters will feel cold in a cave or other area that's in perpetual winter, or frigid enough to have ice form on the walls. However, as long as they bundle up, the most they'll ever get is a longing for some hot cocoa and a warm fireplace. This, too, can be attributed to RuleOfCool (or the other [[SlippySlideyIceWorld rule o]][[StealthPun f cool]]).

[[folder:Comic Books]]* The ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'''s Human Torch can safely carry people and objects by extinguishing the flame on his hands. Being right next to the ''rest'' of his flaming body is apparently not a problem (though, admittedly, it would be much hotter above the Torch than next to him). It has been said that The Human Torch can control who/what he burns with his flame. It's not always followed, though.* In ''ComicBook/SecretWars'', when the Torch uses his "nova flame" to take out ComicBook/{{Ultron}}, it burns so hot that it melts clean through the surrounding solid-metal walls and floor. When the smoke clears, Captain America, who was standing a few yards away and protected only by huddling his upper body behind his shield, is perfectly unharmed. Apparently, his body's melting point is a lot higher than that of whatever alien metal was used to build Doombase. His shield absorbs kinetic energy, not heat.* In ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}} Volume 2]]'' issue #1, the titular heroine shields two people from a shower of molten steel. Her indestructible cape blocks the cascade of metal but it should not protect them from the intense heat.* In an issue of Franchise/{{Superman}} story ''Comicbook/KryptoniteNevermore'' Superman flies over a volcano. It makes sense that he is not affected because he is invulnerable. However in issue #238 a group of criminals use a magma-hose. The nozzle is specially tempered but they are still too near from the stuff.* In a [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher]] / ComicBook/CaptainAmerica crossover, a mook tries to invoke this (and is kind enough to explain it as he does so): if firing a bazooka at the shield causes it to bounce off, shooting it so it explodes short of the shield will let the heat (which will go around) do the work.* Subverted in one issue of ''ComicBook/XForce'', where Wolverine's female clone, ComicBook/{{X 23}} was above a vat of molten metal, and falls. The next time we see her, all her hair has burned away and she has third-degree burns all over. Her shirt was burned away too, making Elixir give her his. Turned out she bounced off the side of the vat to the ground, but the brief exposure to the heat was still enough to harm her. She has a HealingFactor so she got better.* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in an issue of DC's ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'':-->'''Empress:''' Mon, this place makes ''no'' sense. In an active lava field, the ground is so hot, you can get incinerated just by ''standing'' on it. How come we still got ''feet'' even?\\'''Robin:''' You're ''complaining'' because it wasn't ''more'' difficult?!? Are you ''nuts''?!* At one point, ComicBook/{{Magneto}} had a base in the Antarctic surrounded by lava, the only thing keeping the lava from destroying the base was a force field. Yet, when the device controlling the force field is destroyed the lava only slowly leaks in before it finally bursts in. Magneto survives by using his powers to keep it away from him, but it's unknown how the rest of the X-Men survived all of it.* In one issue of ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' the hero was able to fly with no problems few centimetres above the lava on his [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Extransformer]].* Crystar The Crystal Warrior. For the purpose of having a civil war, the loyalists to the old king and his heir Crystar are turned into living crystal men, and the rebel faction are turned into living lava men. The obvious solution of just spraying water on the bad guys didn't come up in this comic's brief run.* Averted in ComicBook/ThePunisherMax ''Barracuda'' spinoff; when President Luna falls from a helicopter into a volcano, we see him catch on fire in mid-air before he hits the lava.* Played straight for the most part in ''[[ComicBook/{{Swordquest}} Swordquest: Fireworld]]''. The characters run around a LethalLavaLand with gouts of flame everywhere, but suffer no ill effects aside from profuse sweating and a constant thirst.* Played as straight as possible in a ''Flash Gordon'' parody from Wally Wood's ''ComicStrip/{{Sally Forth|Wood}}''. The heroine Sally uses a {{Jetpack}} to fly around while ''completely naked,'' but doesn't suffer any injuries from doing so.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* Averted in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6940744/1/A-Teacher-s-Glory A Teacher's Glory]]. Sasuke extinguishes the fire on his sword after a fight, re-sheathes it, and promptly sets his sheath on fire. Later, he realizes that weeks of super-heating his sword in combat has ruined its temper.* Mounty Oum's CG FanFilm series ''WebAnimation/DeadFantasy'' probably takes this to its most extreme.** During part II, the fighters end up on a stone raft floating down a river of lava. The raft is less than a foot thick, but does not melt or overheat. Similarly the girls suffer no problems from heat and toxic gas. Sounds pretty standard so far. Then Tifa gets knocked off of the raft. Yuna shoots Tifa to knock her onto the rocky ledge rather than into the lava, implies that falling in the lava would be a bad thing. But Tifa then proceeds to RUN ACROSS the lava, suffering no more than ignited shoes, used to deliver a fiery dropkick.** Used again with Tifa and Hitomi's BattleAmongstTheFlames. The whole church is on fire? No problem, it just makes an awesome backdrop to the fight.* Averted multiple times in ''FanFic/TheBridge''** Godzilla Junior fires a wide plasma beam into a flock of gyaos, flash frying many of the smaller ones without even scoring a direct hit. ** In the ''FanFic/TheShimmerverse'' crossover, ''The Bridge: A Shimmer in the Dark'', Sunset Shimmer's fire magic causes the neighboring leaf litter and grass to catch fire or wilt and sizzle. ** In a WhatCouldHaveBeen example, Blade Dancer's brief fight with Godzilla Junior would have featured her sword melting due to Junior's heat. The author changed his mind upon realizing it wouldn't be realistic for that to happen without Blade Dancer's body igniting as well.* Averted in ''Fanfic/ChrysalisVisitsTheHague'' when Chrysalis recounts to her lawyer her (supposed) experience of [[spoiler:Princess Celestia trying to execute her and her army by shoving them into]] a live volcano.--> "The trouble with your condition is that, if you gazed into a volcano, you wouldn’t have the milky flesh that you do now. If you were up close enough to see the single bubbles boiling up in the lava, you would also be close enough for it to burn the flesh straight off your bones."* Played absolutely straight, with deliberate intent, in [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/373989/your-alicorn-is-in-another-castle Your Alicorn Is In Another Castle]]. Twilight's first investigation of the platforms floating over the lava in Bowser's kingdom discovers that they don't conduct the heat into her hooves. In fact, the lava doesn't conduct any heat into the air: anything drifting up gets about a hoof-height above the molten rock and stops right there. She quickly concludes that the local physics are a little weird.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' has plenty of fun with lava. Mr. Incredible gets awfully close to it during his first fight with the Omnidroid, while the Omnidroid actually falls into the lava, and emerges unscathed, even though it's so hot it's glowing orange. Maybe heat resistance is another of Mr. Incredible's superpowers (he seemed just fine in the scene in the burning apartment); maybe the Omnidroid was made from heat-resistant {{Unobtainium}}. Either way, there's no excuse for non-superpowered Syndrome (and presumably Mirage) not being cooked alive by the secret passageway with [[CoolButInefficient walls made of flowing lava]]. Maybe they had force fields or something.* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' and his donkey sidekick walk across a rickety bridge over a boiling lake of lava to reach a castle on the other side, without seeming to feel any heat. And a castle built on a pier of rock rising out the lava, which wouldn't even be stable in such conditions, as lava can erode, corrode, and often outright melt such piers.%%* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''. [[TearJerker Not that we're complaining.]]* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' had a scene like this, right down to floating rock islands that could be jumped on by ''dinosaurs''.* The climax of ''Disney/TheJungleBook2'' apparently takes place inside an old temple that's for some reason built inside a volcanic pit. Mowgli, Shanti, Ranjan, Baloo, and Bagheera actually lure Shere Khan inside the temple, where they attempt to distract the tiger by hitting gongs, but when that doesn't work, they simply throw Khan into a pool of lava. Khan survives the fall, thanks to a rocky ledge overhanging the lava, but is immediately trapped inside a giant stone tiger head that also fell inside the pool of lava. As soon as the heroes leave the volcanic temple, [[FridgeHorror the vultures arrive...]]** [[NightmareRetardant And proceed to make really bad jokes.]]* ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess 2'' is a fairly bad offender here-The villain's evil lair is inside a volcano, with a moat full of lava surrounding the central spire that serves as his home. There is a very rickety rope and wood pulley system used to cross-one that should have been incinerated in moments of exposure. Close to the end, while the volcano is exploding (as they are want to do) the heroes are barely inches away from the bubbling, wildly frothing lava-some of it splashing within millimeters of them-and come out unscathed, despite the fact that there should have at the very least been a few singed feathers.* In Disney's version of ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', we have a scene where the two frogs are sitting on the edge of a bathtub. The bathtub is sitting in a fire and being used to cook gumbo, which is boiling hot. But, hey, an inch away sitting on bare metal, what's the problem?* The destruction of the Cave of Wonders in ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', in which Aladdin isn't cooked alive while being pursued by a malevolent stream of magma and using Carpet to escape.* Taken to ridiculous extremes in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge3DawnOfTheDinosaurs'', where Sid manages to raft along a river of lava then have some of it ''splash'' on him without getting at all hurt.* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'', the main characters are chased across a cracking layer of volcanic rock by a large stone jaguar. Lava comes within inches of splattering on them. But it must not be very hot itself, because the stone critter pops right back out.* In ''Disney/BrotherBear'', Koda and Kenai traverse a field of heat (supposed to be lava...) This is impressive for two reasons: Kenai gets continuously hit by jets of steam (a la Princess Bride and the Swamp) and the nearby areas are covered in SNOW!* A rare inversion happens in ''Disney/{{Frozen}}''. At the end of "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" Elsa is sitting against the door, and has flash-frozen it and the surrounding walls to the point where snow is raining from the ceiling. Anna, on the other side, should feel a noticeable difference in temperature, but doesn't.* In ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', during their trip through Imagination Land, Joy, Sadness and Bing Bong cross a stream of (imaginary) lava by using floating pieces of furniture as stepping stones.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* The {{Film/Sharknado}} films have been well-known for giving the middle finger to the laws of physics. A rather amusing example is in ''Film/SharknadoThe4thAwakens'', when one of the sharknados becomes a Nukenado. The heroes go to fight it and, naturally, aren't cooked from the inside.* ''Franchise/StarWars'':** In ''Star Wars Episode I: Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Qui-Gon Jinn tries to melt through a blast door with his lightsaber; he's standing next to it at the time, with his hands inches away from molten metal, but he doesn't even get singed. Force-based protection from heat seems as reasonable an explanation as any.** Somewhat confusing in ''Star Wars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. The climactic fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin takes place above a lake of molten lava. They spend most of the fight floating above the lava on platforms with no ill effect from the heat. But then Anakin suffers horrible burns when not touching the lava later. According [[WordOfGod to Lucas]], the symbolic importance of the [[BattleAmongstTheFlames fight's]] [[FireAndBrimstoneHell lake-of-fire]] venue [[RuleOfSymbolism trumped any desire for natural plausibility]]. That aside, it has been suggested for example that the two Jedi were [[AWizardDidIt using the Force]] to shield themselves, and Anakin's concentration simply broke when he was dismembered. However, a fairly obvious explanation exists and seems to be clearly implied by the movie itself. We see a bit earlier that the "arms" of the lava mining platform have a force field shielding it, and once it's accidentally undone, it starts to rapidly disintegrate. The smaller platforms used later have the same kind of blue glow underneath them. In conclusion, this is most likely an {{aver|tedTrope}}sion, though one using [[HandWave some kind of very handy unexplained technology]].\\\\At least this beats the earlier mention (it might have been in one of the old {{novelization}}s of the original trilogy) that he ''fell into'' a pit of lava.* On the other end of the spectrum, the disaster movie ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', among other examples of terrible, terrible science featured a scene where a main character runs down a hallway where the temperature is dropping so fast that moisture in the air turns to ice on the walls in less than a second. Despite the fact that he's only wearing normal clothes and a coat, our hero seems to be in no danger as long as he doesn't let the rapidly forming ice catch him -- the air a few feet in front of the death zone is only somewhat chilly (and moving slower than a running human). He also manages to hold back the cold entirely by entering a room with a fireplace and shutting the door, but that's a different issue.* Despite breaking many scientific rules, ''Film/TheCore'' actually averted this nicely. One crewman had to step outside safe area of the ship, never touched lava, and still burned to death. He '''was''' wearing a protective suit -- which is the only reason he could even open the door without immediately bursting into flame while simultaneously imploding from the intense heat and pressure. Previously they had to use liquid nitrogen, the ship's coolant, to exit the ship without bursting into flames. The crew is notably sweating through the rest of the movie, even while in the ship.* Used in [[TheFilmOfTheBook the movie version]] of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings: The Return of the King'', in which two barefoot hobbits were able to walk on the rock of an erupting volcano, only a few feet from the flowing lava on either side. However, the soles on Hobbit feet are about as leathery as shoes (and in theory the rock they were walking on hadn't had time to heat up yet--rock's a pretty bad conductor). When Gollum and The One Ring fall into the Crack of Doom, neither show any signs of burning even when Gollum gets completely submerged. * It's also present in ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug''. In a scene that was not in the book, Thorin and the Company attempt to kill Smaug by flooding him with liquid gold from a Dwarven furnace (it doesn't work). There is a chase sequence where Thorin and Bilbo lay down on metal shields to [[LavaSurfing surf the river of molten gold]] that erupts from the furnace, with no ill effects whatsoever. Never mind that they should have been fried almost instantly --laying metal down over a source of heat ''is how skillets and frying pans work''. Plus, there are several times when the heroes take cover in some way from Smaug's fire breath, and are completely OK being mere feet (or even inches) away from a massive inferno. * Averted in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' during the final chase scene when Sarah Connor declares that it is "too hot" to approach [[NoOSHACompliance the open pit of molten metal]]. Also when Ah-nuld is lowered into the steel, his boot and pants catch fire a full foot above the metal.* A similar event in the Creator/SylvesterStallone movie ''Film/DemolitionMan'' in which the villain holds a blowtorch mere inches away from a floor which is covered in diesel. Never mind that the fumes coming from it would have surely caught fire instantly, as long as the naked flame doesn't touch the liquid itself it's fine.* ''Film/DantesPeak'' has a scene where a truck drives over lava and the tires only melt ''a little''. In another scene lava starts pouring into a wooden house, that miraculously hadn't caught fire already, which surprised instead of incinerated all of the characters there. Also, when they run outside, the lava has already swept through the surrounding small pine trees, most of which were still standing. Other than that, though, it was a fairly well-researched movie, and goes into several other deadly effects of volcanic eruption beyond the lava.* ''Film/{{Volcano}}'' is a repeat offender;** After blocking a lava flow with concrete barriers, the fire fighters lean over the top of them, laughing.** In the same scene, the protagonists have to rescue an unconscious fireman stuck at the far end of a fire truck's ladder. Apparently convection from a precarious position ''is'' enough to make metal melt and bend, and clothes ignite, but if you make it to solid ground you're safe even if you're ''closer'' to the lava now than you were while up on the ladder. To be fair, being ''above'' the lava would put both ladder and fireman directly in the rising column of heat, while being ''next to'' the lava wouldn't.** The scene in the subway is an utter howler; a man is able to move around in a train car so hot it's actually ''melting'' all around him, making it so hot all the "survivors" he's rescuing would have been incinerated. Then came the part where the brave man heroically ''jumps into lava'', stupidly ''remaining conscious'' and throwing another grown adult clear of it, and then stupidly melting. And it was stupid, did we mention that?** Also, the scene with the barriers ends with aerial drops of water onto the pool of lava to solidify it. The resulting clouds of superheated steam which engulfed everyone nearby ''should'' have scalded them all to death, but they safely (if stupidly) emerged unhurt.* ''When Time Ran Out'' is about a volcanic eruption that imperils vacationers in a Hawaiian resort. The characters often come implausibly close to the lava, including a daring lava-pit rescue by Burgess Meredith (as a retired high-wire artist).* The scene in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' where Willie (the woman) was raised and lowered in an iron cage. She was lowered so close to the molten rock that she should have burst into flames. Just in case the whole "beating heart" thing wasn't [[strike: stupid]] awesome enough...** The poor sap who gets lowered before her ''does'' burst into flames.** The {{novelization}} goes into full detail of how excruciating the experience was for poor Willie. At one point it even explicitly says that her eyelashes singe and her dress starts smoking, and she eventually passes out from the high temperature.* In ''Film/DragonballEvolution'', Goku forms a series of stepping stones across a pit of lava, with corpses. The other characters had to walk around the edge of the area to meet back up with him. This could be because, as mentioned in many other pages, Goku is a super-powered alien and survived something like this in the original anime more than once. Or it could be because this incarnation of [[IdiotHero Goku]] is ''incredibly'' dumb and completely missed the safer, cooler path around the pit.* ''Film/JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth in 3-D''.* The ending to ''[[Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla Godzilla 1985]]'' has the monster being trapped in a volcano. Not surprisingly, he's not affected at all by either the lava itself or any of the intense heat. He ''is'' Godzilla.* In ''Film/DangerDiabolik'', most famous for being the subject of the final episode of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', the eponymous character dons a protective suit near the end to keep him safe as he melts down a large bar of gold. He claims that in such a suit he could swim through the sun (though he doesn't say so, he presumably means he could survive the ordeal as well). While this itself is fairly stupid, one has to take notice that there is a noticeable gap between the bottom of the visor and his helmet, as if he didn't shut it properly. Although this does not appear to present a problem when he is later sprayed with molten gold and survives.* ''Film/HouseOfWax2005'' has the main characters escaping from the house of wax as it melts and burns, not bothered by the heat at all.* In ''Film/SpiderMan2'', Doctor Octopus builds what is effectively a miniature sun. Characters standing a few feet away show no signs of feeling the heat. Later he sinks it, and there's not even a whiff of steam.* In ''Film/TheSaint1997'', a fusion reaction is contained in a '''glass jar'''. ''Stars'' are powered by fusion reactions. Stars in general are not known for their utter lack of heat. Note that was cold fusion, which doesn't actually "work" but that's how you're supposed to do it in real life: Electrodes in a glass jar.* The infamous Film/SyFyChannelOriginalMovie ''Raptor Island'' features a scene where the female lead runs across a tree over a river of lava.** It's also a good thing air doesn't conduct heat-- at least in that movie, apparently, since that's the meaning of "convection." (Also there's heat-radiation).* ''Film/JamesBond''** The climactic battle in ''Film/DrNo'' takes place in a room being flooded with coolant from a nuclear reactor. [[spoiler:Dr. No survives long enough in the superheated coolant to desperately claw for a way out even when submerged above his head, and Bond is unharmed despite being mere inches away from the coolant.]]** ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' has two assassins [[MurderByCremation putting Bond inside a coffin about to be cremated]]. It starts, but a crook cancels the thing and opens the coffin nonchalantly... despite the fact that it had been inside a lit crematory and thus would be as scalding as a cake just out of the oven.** ''Film/QuantumofSolace'' has a climactic fight in a hotel that's burning down. None of the combatants have any trouble breathing, talking, seeing, or fighting. Bond even runs through flames to rescue a woman having a PTSD episode, and then the two of them run through a burning, collapsing wall. No one gets burned. * Subverted realistically in the ''Film/SilentHill'' movie -- a character dies from heat exposure while hanging above an open flame, and is later shown as a burned corpse, even though she is never actually lowered into the flame itself.%%* The entire ending of ''Film/{{Congo}}''.* ''Film/WrathOfTheTitans'' features Cronos, a mountain-sized man made of molten rock that apparently does not give off any heat. Notably, in the climax Perseus [[spoiler:flies Pegasus down his throat]] and gets slightly singed for his trouble.* At one point in ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'' Elmont is rolled in raw dough and placed in an oven to be cooked as an hors d'oeuvre. When he frees himself a few minutes later, he's not even sweating, despite the fact that the dough he was inside visibly cooked while he was freeing himself.* In the opening scene of ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', Spock survives for several minutes ''in the crater of an erupting volcano''. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the high-tech environment suit he's wearing, though the fact that his equipment survives unscathed is a bit harder to swallow. Unlike other films, this one shows the volcanic ash severely damaging the shuttle.* In ''Film/AfterEarth'' Kitai is able to stand outside in an ash cloud, without a breathing apparatus. In Real Life Volcanic ash particles turn to cement when they are inhaled, causing rapid suffocation. Furthermore, Kitai takes refuge in a cave with a ledge overlooking an active lava flow and is no worse for wear, and ''lights a campfire'' to make it cozier. Later on, after nearly freezing to death in the wilderness, he runs and jumps up the side of an active volcano, coming within feet of large cracks that glow with the heat of the lava. * ''Film/PacificRim'': On Striker Eureka's blueprints there's mention of the "Sting-Blades" channeling thermal energy, but it's unknown if it's this or outright case of KillItWithFire. This is averted in the FinalBattle, where [[spoiler:Gipsy Danger shoves a {{Kaiju}}'s head into a volcanic vent and roasts its face in an attempt to kill it]].* Subverted in ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'', where there is a planet whose entire landscape gets recreated daily by a cloud of super-hot air and accompanying lava roaming over it, caused by being so close to the local star. Riddick and a few others make for escape but nearly get burned to a crisp by the sunlight. Later a character walks into the cloud and gets burned to pieces (literally). Riddick only survives in a hangar which is obviously made to survive the phenomenon, including cooling.* In the finale of ''Film/{{Species}}'', when the tar-filled pit catches fire, the temperature in the cavern should have been unbearable. However, the characters don't respond to this fact.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': Well, technically "Radiation Schmadiation." In TheFilmOfTheBook, Klaus uses Olaf's sunlight-refracting weapon to incinerate the wedding contract. The instant the sunlight hits the paper, it catches on fire. That means the thing was heated to about 400 degrees Farenheit just like that. Never mind the fact that Klaus perfectly lined up the device to hit such a small target, how come Olaf's hand didn't get singed? Or, you know, the stage didn't catch fire? There should at least have been smoke, considering how easily the paper went up.* In the first ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'', the giant Foamfollower carries Covenant across Hotash Slay, a river of lava. Foamfollower, being a giant, is immune to fire and so can withstand the heat of the lava; Covenant, however, should have been fried before Foamfollower even stepped into the river. There is some effort at {{Hand Wav|e}}ing this -- it is implied that Covenant's ring is involved -- but still, it's fairly ludicrous.** Well, Covenant ''is'' torn between believing that the Land is real or the opposite. It could use some lampshading.* In Creator/SandyMitchell's Literature/CiaphasCain novels, explicitly invoked and averted. Once Cain claims that a plasmabolt missed him by a millimeter. In a footnote, Amberley points out that he would have suffered flash burns that close, so he was wrong about the distance.* Averted in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' #34 when the team visit the Hork-Bajir homeworld and cross over a seriously deep chasm -- as in, so deep they can see the core of the planet.-->'''Ax:''' <You do not have to worry about the lava, Cassie>-->'''Cassie''': "Thanks, Ax."-->'''Ax''': <If you fell, I believe you would be incinerated before you hit the actual magma.>-->'''Cassie:''' (narrating) ''Sometimes I think hanging around Marco so much has given Ax a totally twisted sense of humour. Very un-Andalite.''** The same joke is used again (or before?) in the ''Hork Bajir Chronicles".** Visser Three has a morph that can fire lethal amounts of heat (enough to boil a person alive) and even being near it is described as standing in front of an open oven.* ''Literature/JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth''. The protagonists are lifted out of HollowEarth by riding up an erupting lava tube on a raft of fossilised wood (it's even more silly in the 1959 movie where they're using a large metal altar dish).* Averted in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', where all but the most controlled fire magic heats the air and sets nearby objects ablaze. In ''Literature/BloodRites'', a vampire used a flamethrower on Harry in a tight corridor, and he used his shield bracelet to deflect the napalm -- but the bracelet only stopped the napalm jelly, while the ''heat'' from the jelly proceeded to roast his hand to the point that even with his wizardly HealingFactor, it's still somewhat limited in use and covered in scar tissue for the rest of the series so far. Harry mentions on several occasions that summoning and directing fire requires a ''lot'' of force in order to make sure everything that's not the target doesn't get incinerated, and once that force is released, you'll still have to deal with the convection issue. He has even redone his bracelet's shield magic to block this.** In ''A Day Off'', Harry even lampshades his trope during a D&D campaign by complaining that the party wizard's perfect 20' fireballs are unrealistic.** Played straight in ''White Night'', where Harry sends continuous waves of molten rock at some attacking monsters, and none of his allies that are standing nearby seem bothered by the heat.* In the ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'', Luke once walks through lava to impress a prospective student. He's stated to be using the Force to direct the heat away from his feet, so it's not much of a stretch to assume that he includes the rest of his body.* In the ''Literature/StarTrekTheNextGenerationRelaunch'' novel ''Q&A'', the away team find themselves maneuvering through a lava field by jumping from rock to rock. Science officer Kadohata [[LampshadeHanging points out]] that the heat should be affecting them even if they don't touch the lava, but stops once security officer Leybenzon asks her if she's complaining that things should be more difficult. (The planet was created by {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s, and works however they want it to.)* In Creator/AaronAllston's ''Literature/GalateaIn2D'', Roger is not burned by nearby lava. Justified because [[ArtInitiatesLife it's his imaginary world]], and he hadn't thought of whether it would kill.* Averted in French Sci Fi novel ''{{Literature/Malevil}}''. The cast is celebrating in a cool 55º Fahrenheit castle cellar when WorldWarIII occurs. Within a minute the cellar is an incredible 150ºF. Emmanuel is struggling to breathe and strip off his clothes when he realizes the flagstones he's lying on are burning hot. He realizes with horror that the stone cellar may soon function as a stone ''oven'' and broil them all alive, it doesn't occur to him to consider what temperatures ''outside'' the insulated underground chamber must be like.* Initially averted in ''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheIsles Queen of Demons]]'' when Garric notes the heat emanating from a nearby [[LavaPit lava moat]]; later played straight both when he crosses a bridge over the moat and in an OutrunTheFireball scene involving a tunnel and an erupting volcano.* Definitely {{averted|Trope}} in ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned''. During a battle against several hundred fire-spiders, they [[BattleAmongstTheFlames coat the cave walls in burning web]] and nearly cook the heroes alive before Laeshana puts out the flames.* Somewhat justified in ''Literature/EmilyTheStrangeTheLostDays''. While the liquid black rock was stated to feel as if it was burning Earwig, it did so in a nice way and apparently wasn't hot per se. Basically, it was magic lava.* Explicitly averted in the third book of ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'', ''Fire Sea'', which takes place in a subterranean world where cities are built on the shores of great lava currents to stay warm within the dying planet. It's explicitly noted that only the demigod-like Sartans and Patryns are capable of surviving in such conditions, while humans and other races with lesser magical aptitude died out almost immediately after their arrival. And the world takes its toll even on the Sartans, greatly weakening them as they focus most of their magic on simple survival.* Averted in one short story by Creator/ArthurCClarke in which a crew of astronauts on Venus encounter an amorphous creature that appeared to try to encircle them as if to eat them. Turned out it was simply trying to avoid excess heat generated by their spacesuits' life support systems, which wasn't immediately apparent to the crew.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': This applies to both sides of the "ice and fire" theme of the series. Dragonfire works similarly to firebending from ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' in that characters generally will not experience burns as long as they do not directly touch the flames. [[spoiler: This gets especially ridiculous in the season 7 episode "The Spoils of War," in which Bronn and Jamie avoid the massive column of fire Drogon produces by inches and come out of it unscathed.]] Similarly, the White Walkers are cold enough to instantly extinguish any fire that comes withing a few meters of them and have blades so cold that steel shatters upon contact, yet somehow the characters avoid instant frostbite when in their presence.* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': In "Public Property on Parade", nobody so much as breaks a sweat when standing next to Madison High School's coal fired boiler.* The ''Series/DoctorWho'': ** "Pond Life" mini-episodes preceding Series 7 feature the Doctor surfing a lava flow using nothing but a surfboard. However, this is ostensibly PlayedForLaughs due to the Doctor's rather off-hand over-the-phone comments about it.** Played straight on the episode "The End of the World". Solar heat is shown to be a terribly lethal thing to let through, with special sun visors to block it out. But when the visors come down, the victims have plenty of time to scream and DUCK to avoid them (with mixed success, depending on the room and whether the Doctor is nearby). The walls seem to stand up to the energy reasonably well, too.* Subverted on ''Series/MacGyver''. In the episode "Flame's End", the villain has [[DeathTrap locked him and a companion in a room]] at a nuclear power plant and he plans to flood it with the reactor's coolant water. Mac's companion points out that convection alone is going to kill them long before they have a chance to drown, scald, or be irradiated to death.* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Basics, part II", the "don't touch the lava" rule is very much in effect when, during an evacuation from a volcanic eruption, Chakotay rescues an alien girl who's somehow gotten herself stranded on a piece of rock.* Surprisingly averted in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Civil Defense". Sisko and O'Brien had to crawl through a cramped, metal tube surrounded by [[TechnicolorFire green fire]], and they even wrapped their hands in cloth. O'Brien passed out from the heat.* The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' series finale includes a scene where [[TheOmnipotent Q]] takes Picard back to primeval Earth. There are flaming pools of lava all around them, but Picard doesn't even seem to sweat. Then again, this is [[RealityWarper Q]]; any episode he's in is bound to violate the laws of physics at least a few times over. This is supposedly the time and place where ''life on Earth'' first evolved. There shouldn't even be oxygen.* In an episode of the original ''Series/KnightRider'', the car runs over a lava spillage not once, but ''twice''. The tires are a little melted, but the Magical Impregnable Alloy protecting KITT is just a little dirty.* ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' once tested firewalking over charcoal. The build team found out that coal is actually a decent insulator; the top being much cooler than the underside, and that the proper technique is a casual walk. This is because when running, more weight is concentrated on less area, causing a person's feet to dig into the coals; potentially causing severe burns. [[ButtMonkey Adam]] found that out [[AgonyOfTheFeet the hard way]]. It's a favorite trick of "life coaches" to demonstrate firewalking over wood or charcoal. Ask them to repeat the feat with a comparatively ''cooler'' metal plate.\\\\On a similar note, the Mythbusters have demonstrated that it's perfectly possible to (very briefly) dip your fingers into molten lead, if you dip them in water beforehand. The layer of water coating your skin evaporates the moment it makes contact, and water vapor is yet another excellent insulator.* ''Series/{{Eureka}}'':** An episode deals with a miniature sun springing into being over the title city, creating an unending, superhot day. It keeps growing and getting hotter until it collapses a silo, melts the tires on a Jeep and fries the circuitry on a rocket. No people suffer any ill effects worse than sweating, and the idea that a small sun might cause a fire in the forest it's hovering over is never even mentioned.** Another episode features a giant artificially created pocket of magma somewhere under the city, which could pop up anywhere unless Carter diverts it into the nearby lake. Having done so, the lava spurts out of the tunnel he made and into the lake... while Carter stands right next to it, making his usual pithy comment.* Subverted by Mike Rowe in ''Series/DirtyJobs''. Standing at least 20-30 feet away from a fresh lava flow, he remarked "That is insanely hot!" and then added in the subsequent voiceover, "insanely hot was an understatement; it was hotter than hell". They had to get into special suits to get close since the radiant heat was enough to burn their skin, but seeing as the show centers on appreciating just how difficult everyday jobs are and strives for every aspect this is not too surprising. In other episodes, Mike has similar experiences with molten glass and molten steel -- on the latter job, his face shield melted.* In the ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'' episode "Pax Romana", two characters in insulation suits (which leave much of the head and hands exposed) leisurely execute a medical procedure surrounded by molten rock a few meters below. There's a dramatic close call where one of them falls extremely close to the lava. Sadly, her hair fails to start smoking.* ''Series/HardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries'':** "Mystery of the Flickering Torch" has Frank and Joe trapped inside a small closet while a fire rages outside. They break out and dive through the flames to the outside without breaking a sweat or even a singe to their clothing. They don't even sweat when they're inside that tiny closet, with the flames raging on the other side!** "Arson & Old Lace" has Frank, Joe, and Nancy all trying to escape a burning office building. Both Hardys are shown entering rooms with raging flames to rescue people, with no burns, sweat, or other ill effects beyond a bit of smudge and coughing. On top of that, Frank Hardy & Nancy Drew use an ''elevator shaft'' to climb to the roof & escape the fire. The room they're in is full of smoke, the shaft is shown to have flames on the floors below, yet neither Frank nor Nancy have any issues breathing nor do they cook alive while climbing this smoking-hot chimney of an elevator.* On an episode of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark saves his rival Whitney from a fireball by covering his back with his body. We actually see the fireball engulfing Whitney's uncovered front, and we are shown that the blast super-heats Clark's body to the point that his father is burned just by touching him, but Whitney is fine. Their clothes are also undamaged.* In the second episode of ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'', Moltor holds Andrew Hartford over a river of lava, in an attempt to get the [[MacGuffin Corona Aurora]]. Andrew suffers no ill effects from being so close to the lava.** And in episode 15 of [[Series/GoGoSentaiBoukenger GoGo Sentai Boukenger]] [=GoGo=] Jet is flown right into a volcano and someone dangled down to pik up a crystal that's floating in the lava.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* Completely subverted in the video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBluR6cLxJ8&t=2m26s Just Got Lucky]]" by Music/{{Dokken}}; George Lynch really did play that solo in front of an active volcano, and though they weren't ''very'' close to it he says it was hot enough that he could feel it though his shoes.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinballs]]* ''Pinball/{{Gorgar}}'' takes place inside the monster's LavaPit, but both the BarbarianHero and the DamselInDistress suffer no obvious ill effects.* Invoked by the "Devil's Island" pinball in ''VideoGame/BallsOfSteel,'' with the player required to shoot the ball into a lava tube and an active volcano.* Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''[[Pinball/TeedOff Tee'd Off]]'' features a golf course set around a volcano, and the player must regularly shoot balls into it.* The ''[[Pinball/GilligansIsland Gilligan's Island]]'' pinball has Gilligan fly over a volcano that's about to erupt, without any problems.* ''Pinball/{{Congo}}'' has a shot along a lava trail that loops around the base of a volcano.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':** If a wizard casts a fireball spell and you are 20 feet away expect to take up to 10d6 damage, more than you'd get from sticking a foot in lava. If you are 20 feet and 1 inch away? You're fine. Possibly justified as being intentionally designed that way by whoever invented the spell, allowing you to roast enemies while not harming your allies. It ''is'' [[AWizardDidIt magic]] after all. That, and it would be a massive pain in the ass for the DM and players to deal with concentric damage rings (or worse, a linear damage scale formula based on range) for everyone involved each time a wizard pops an [=AoE=].[[note]] For comparison, Shadowrun grenades do have varying damage based on the victim's location from the explosion. It's a massive pain in the ass. [[/note]]** In what has to be one of the weirdest things about gameplay, an "Unearthly Heated" environment (anything over 211 F) deals 3d10 fire damage a round. Physical contact with magma? 2d6. Granted, total immersion deals ten times as much damage as simple contact, but when was the last time a character survived being ''dunked'' in lava long enough to be considered immersed, with charting HP still relevant? [[note]] The logic behind this is as follows: contact is defined as physically touching the lava with your arms or feet, while superheated air affects the whole surface of your body. Thus, the damage is much larger, since the area affected by burns is also much greater. Total immersion means when you jump or fall into a pool of lava. [[/note]]** This Trope is used to demonstrate how tough Immortals are on the cover of ''The Immortal Storm'', an introductory adventure for Immortal-Level players in the original boxed set. The cover shows four scantly-clad human-like figures with perfectly toned torsos wading through lava with no discomfort at all. (After all, when the {{Player Character}}s are Immortal and confronted by lava, "convection? schmonvection!" is their most likely response.) * Played with in ''TabletopGame/PsionicsTheNextStageInHumanEvolution''. Pyrokinetics instinctively lower the temperature around their bodies, making them extremely resistant to being damaged by heat.* Averted and played straight in the various versions of ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}''. There is a spell, "Heat", that raises the temperature of an object or area by 20F per minute. Averted in the spell note that the heat radiates away normally, so "if you were in a jail, you might melt your way through the bars, but the radiated heat would probably broil you first"... then played straight in that {{Game Master}}s are explicitly told [[RuleOfCool not to turn the spell into a physics exercise]].* Played straight with the ''TabletopGame/HeroClix'' Muspelheim map. It includes special rules for squares containing lava, which allow a character to walk over it in complete safety, just so long as they don't end up standing in a lava square at the end of a turn, which will deal a pittance of damage. Admittedly, it is based on the superhero genre, so it's not like accurate physics was its top priority.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theme Parks]]* The plot [[ExcusePlot (such as it was)]] of the now-discontinued ''Ride/BackToTheFutureTheRide'' at Universal Studios Hollywood involved the guests using Doc Brown's flying TimeMachine to chase Biff (who had stolen the more familiar [=DeLorean=]) through several time periods, cumulating in a prehistoric era with a river of lava and a lava-waterfall; Biff [[DirtyCoward is panicked by the sight of it]], but unharmed.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]* Several characters in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' participate in lava surfing with no adverse effects. Handwaved in that they're cyborgs, most of whom have some form of heat resistance.** Only Matoran of fire, who have a greater heat resistance, do it for sport. Other characters surf on lava only if needed to escape. It was also mentioned that Toa of fire could survive a few seconds ''in'' lava, though it most certainly wouldn't be a pleasant experience. No-one thinks that it is stupid to surf for sport on a liquid which kill you if you fall.** Played very straight in the movie ''Mask of Light'', wherein Takua (''not'' a Fire Matoran, though everyone including himself thought he was at the time) fishes the eponymous mask out of a lava flow with his bare hands, and only feels the hotness after holding it in his hand for a moment. Then, he hops onto his comically frail lava surfboard... on all fours, with his fingers clinging onto its sides (hanging into the lava), but suffers no ill effects. The mask itself plays it straight in that the rock it was contained in when it fell into the lava completely melts, but it itself is completely unaffected (though it's noted it was made to be a lot sturdier than the average mask).** To be completely fair, most of the above examples are molten [[{{Phlebotinum}} protodermis]] and not actual magma. The fact that the characters themselves are made of protodermis might actually make this worse, though...[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]* As long as the cast of ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'' aren't touching lava, (even ''then'' due to an animation oversight) they can be as close to it as possible without getting hurt.* In ''WebAnimation/TomorrowsNobodies'', Ben is able to survive the apartment burning down in episode 2 with no burns or injuries of any kind despite the fact that the couch he was sleeping on is partially burned away. David also suffers nothing more than pain despite his hands being on fire for the majority of the episode.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]* ''WebComic/{{Homestuck}}'' has Dave's planet, the [[ClockPunk Land of Heat and Clockwork]], made out of giant steel structures and turning gears as platforms floating directly on top of the lava. Logically, Dave shouldn't be able to stand on them without boiling to death.** Later on, Dave and Rose wind up [[spoiler: walking out of a sun. Fortunately, the two are immortal, although given that the Felt, Ms. Paint, and Spades Slick also were able to survive being inside the Green Sun for an extended period of time, it's safe to say that the Green Sun doesn't behave like any star we know of]].** And then in Act 6 Act 6 Intermission 2, a LavaPit is formed on Jade's planet thanks to a SphereOfDestruction war. Not only does a building get toppled into the lava soon after to form some convenient platforms to be fought on, but [[spoiler:Jade herself]] actually gets launched with enough force to ''skip on the lava'' and yet survives that.*** Though the latter two are at least partially {{Justified}}. [[spoiler: Dave and Rose ascend to the God Tier just before walking out of the Green Sun, and God Tier characters can only die in a Heroic or Just manner. And by Act 6, Jade has ascended to the ''Dog'' Tier, which is one step ''beyond'' God Tier.]]* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the monster of solid fire that does not burn. [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-10-04 "Why are you crying, Dr. Physics Professor?" ]] Apparently, it's not really made of fire and just looks like it: it's a beginner's mistake when summoning certain monsters.* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/110815 "I don't have to be a volcanologist to know you don't step in the lava!"]] (Technically true, but for better reasons than are dreamed of here.)* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' now has a link to this very page as they approach the Obi Wan and Vader lava battle.* ''[[Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja Dr. McNinja]]'': [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/23p56/ This page]] shows us a wooden bridge ''inside a volcano'' [[spoiler:that only starts burning once a magma eruption tears it down]]. Dan and Judy seem mildly surprised.-->'''Alt Text:''' [[LampshadeHanging This is how volcanoes work, right]]? I won't check.* ''Webcomic/VoldemortsChildren'': Harry [[http://www.elidupree.com/main/posts/273-voldemort%27s-children-page-81 burns Dumbledore's office]] and then doesn't seem to have any trouble standing around in the ''only spot that isn't on fire''.* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', it's safe to fly over a lava pit -- but the careful reader will note that there are runes on the wall, and that the runes spell out that they are a spell, to keep in the heat, thus justifying the survival.* ''In Webcomic/RustyAndCo'' [[spoiler:Madeline]] [[http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-7-79/ jumps out of a pit with lava at the bottom and deftly lands, singed but mostly unharmed.]]-->'''[[spoiler: [[ChessMaster Grinner]]]] "You...You can't do that! [[spoiler: [[VerbalTic A-heh]]]], [[LampshadeHanging seriously, there's like, convection and stuff. You surviving is rude.]]''[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* [[http://kvts.smackjeeves.com/comics/365423/its-solid/ A particularly blatant example.]]* [[http://wayofthemetagamer.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/34423 Lampshaded in]] ''WebComic/TheWayOfTheMetagamer''.* {{Averted|Trope}} and {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. Team Kimba is in a holographic simulation of an evil lair inside a volcanic mountain, complete with a huge gap across molten lava to get to the BigBad. TheSmartGuy points out that even the toughest supers on the team wouldn't survive flying above the magma, and snarks that it isn't some stupid video game. But they have other resources.* ''Website/{{Cracked}}'':** Listed as one of the [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18862_6-deadly-injuries-you-think-youd-survive-thanks-to-movies_p2.html 6 Deadly Injuries You Think You'd Survive (Thanks to Movies)]].** [[http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_767_42-sci-fi-movies-if-they-were-updated-realism/ 42 Sci-Fi Movies (If They Were Updated for Realism)]] shows a [[Franchise/StarWars lightsaber battle]] on a platform floating above the middle of a lake of fire, except their clothes are on fire.* Lampshaded heavily by LetsPlay/{{Raocow}}, while playing ''VideoGame/ASuperMarioThing'':--> "This is just barely hair-singing me, because you know, lava, normally, like, at this proximity, [[TheHero Demo]] would be something like evaporated by now, but I mean we're talking about reverse-gravity lava, which has ''completely'' different physical implications."* {{Exaggerated|Trope}} and parodied in a ''WebSite/SomethingAwful'' parody of bad science in movies like ''Film/TheCore''... where the characters travel to the Sun and walk on its surface thanks to some vague HandWave AppliedPhlebotinum.[[/folder]]----